Rally by MODEVITE and the Movement of Women in Defense of the Land and Territory and for the Right of Women to Decide
Photo: @SIPAZ

On 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, several events were held in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas.

For one, the Movement of Women in Defense of the Land and Territory and for the Right of Women to Decide held its first assembly on 23-24 November. Through this action, the organization released a communique “in favor of social property, in opposition to all forms of privatization of the land and territory” and denouncing “the energy reform as well as its continuation in the strategic rural reform.” The women, together with some men, ended the meeting with a march against violence against women. Beyond this, the Movement in Defense of Land and Life (MODEVITE), from the Believing People of the San Cristóbal de Las Casas diocese, also marched on the same day. Simultaneously, thousands of persons (30,000 according to Proceso) mobilized in ten other municipalities in the state, “to remember that Mother Earth must be protected against the mining, oil-extraction, and hydroelectric-dam megaprojects, among others, that are being imposed on our lands […]. We will raise our voices to prevent the sale of alcoholic beverages, drugs, and prostitution in our communities, and we will denounce the ineptitude and corruption of authorities in terms of failing to resolve these problems.” Both marches converged and reached Central Park jointly.

Despite the fact that the two groups had already announced their events, in the Cathedral Plaza, where the marches traditionally end to give way to rallies, the space was occupied by the state-government. From early in the morning, privatized space was installed for the event at which Governor Manuel Velasco Coello awarded support “From Heart to Heart” to 4,000 single mothers. It bears noting that initiatives like the Movement of Women in Defense of the Land and Territory and for the Right of Women to Decide have denounced the welfarism promoted by the state governments, which lead to dependency and end up becoming a form of social control over women.

On 27 May, women who benefit from the Próspera governmental welfare program occupied the Teopisca City Hall to protest the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and its mayoral candidate, as they had been forced to attend a rally from this party, planned for 10am the next day. They were threatened with having their support withdrawn if they did not attend the action, they denounced.

In retaliation, women painted graffiti against the PRI mayoral candidate, Raúl López; they also punctured the PRI bus’ tires and broke its windows. They demand the resignation of the Próspera municipal coordinator, and that the SEDESOL officials suspend political conditions for participation in the program.

In light of these acts, the Chiapas Center for Women’s Right A.C. (CDMCH) denounced “the violence that women face if they receive welfare programs from the political parties and officials of public policy, in exchange for votes, forcing them to join whatever political party to ensure the flow of support.” The CDMCH denounced that the women had been threatened with “having their programs withdrawn if they do not join the party, [which] takes advantage of their impoverished state, amidst the fact that there is no comprehensive attention granted by the State in terms of education, health, housing, and just work.”

The CDMCH has demanded a halt to violence against women, as well as the use of poverty for political ends, being “consequences of the impunity and social backwardness in which thousands of us women and our families live in Chiapas, in terms of the exercise of the right to free and informed voting on 7 June.”

From 24 to 26 January there was held in San Cristóbal de Las Casas the Intercultural National Forum for Indigenous, Campesina, and Afro-Mestiza women, which included the participation of 30 organizations from 8 states that work on women’s rights and the right to lives free of violence. The goal of the forum was to “share experiences with other female comrades from different states of Mexico, to meet and reflect on the violence that we experience as indigenous and campesina women,” affirmed the organizations in a communique which preceded the event.

In a press conference, the organizations noted that “violence has been institutionalized in the country with the increase in femicides, the lack of access to health care, education, free sexuality, food sovereignty, and due to the implementation of welfare programs that instead of acknowledging women as subjects of rights treat the as objects of dependence, impoverishment, and psychological and communal violence.” In this way, they added that they advanced toward the creation of a National Network of Women against Violence.